The Hardest Decision
by Bouncemess
Summary: A short one-shot: Evelyn Mercer makes a hard decision.....


This is just a little one-shot something that popped into my head :) Let me know what you think :)

Don't own make no money

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**The Hardest Decision**

Evelyn Mercer smoothed the table cloth down around the glass of iced tea and pulled her watch up to check the time. She'd been waiting for nearly thirty minutes now, though he had promised that he would meet her there within ten. He had called her on her cell phone, explaining that something had come up and he was going to be running late. She could skip picking him up as they had planned, and he would grab a cab to the restaurant, he'd made reservations, and she only had to give them her name, they would seat her.

She should have known he wouldn't be on time. With all of the rushing that he always did a person would expect that he could make it on time for a planned date on such an occasion; but then, it just wouldn't feel right if he did manage to show up when he was supposed to. It had taken some time for her to see that he was always in motion and never going anywhere. He needed some goals, something to focus on.

She had been waiting for this evening for days now. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much she needed him to understand. She feared he would think she was rejecting him, and though she was pushing him away, she had no choice. She wasn't sure why she had chosen this day to tell him, but it felt right. It was the anniversary of their first meeting. The first time she'd seen those eyes, full of so many emotions. They reserved this day for a special dinner every year, just the two of them.

She had been married years before, and he had been the love of her life until his passing. She had found little desire for anything more back then. She had lost herself when her husband died, and she had thought she would never have another person that she could feel so strongly about, until he'd come along, showing her how much more there could be. She had given up on the hope of her life feeling complete and he had shown her there was so much more than she could have ever dreamed. It had opened a door for her to a new kind of life and a whole new kind of loving.

He had saved her, and she wanted him to know that. She had given up and he had shown her there so much more to fight for. She wasn't sure how she was going to say it to him, and still have him understand that he had to go. She'd spent years ignoring the truth, and when she had finally faced it, it had been amazing to her, not frightening as she had expected. She hoped he would understand, and know just how special he was to her.

A young waitress stepped up to the table. "Ma-am, are you sure your date is coming?" She spoke quietly. "We have other patrons waiting for this table." She leaned forward slightly.

"He will be here dear. This is an important night for us, he wouldn't miss this." Evelyn reached for her tea and pulled it close, taking a small sip before waving the young woman away. "I will order in ten minutes if he hasn't arrived by then, but I believe you have several empty tables here if you are so desperate to seat other 'patrons'. And we did have a reservation."

The young lady gave a slight roll of her eyes and sighed. She looked as if she were about to say something more.

"Young lady, that isn't any way to entice customers to return a second time, and it certainly won't get you much of a tip." Evelyn smiled sweetly.

The waitress stared for a moment and then turned and walked away. Evelyn looked at her watch again. This evening was going to be hard enough, and each minute that passed gave her more time to re-think her decision. It had not been easy, coming to this. She wanted him to have more than she could offer him right then, more than Detroit could offer. There was so much that he could do and be and she needed him to go out and find out just what that was. She couldn't stand the thought that she was holding him back. He needed to make a life for himself, and find someone who could truly make him happy, that was never going to happen so long as he was still with her. Letting go was the hardest thing she could ever do, but it was for the best, and she knew that.

Come morning after all was said and done, she was sure he would know that what she was doing was out of love. A single tear slid down her left cheek while she tried to convince herself of that, and as she reached up to wipe it away another hand took hold of hers, an all too familiar hand. She looked up, into his eyes, which were filled with concern at the sight of her tear and she had to smile, "Oh, Bobby." Yes, this was the hardest decision she'd ever made…


End file.
